Archdevils
The Archdevils rule over the Nine Hells. They are powerful fiends entwined in an endless struggle for power through politics and war. A Dark Pantheon Bel For more on this, see here. Bel is the ruler of the First, also called Avernus, gate to the Hells from other realms. He stands bastion against intruders, demonic or otherwise. The other Archdevils do not recognise Bel's authority, for he gained his title by overthrowing his lover, thus his other title: The Pretender. Bel rose through the ranks of Hell by his own cunning, setting an inspirational example for many lesser devils. Dispater For more on this, see here. Dispater is ruler of the Second, also called Dis, and dwells within his Iron Fortress. He fought against Asmodeus in the Reckoning, the war between the previous eight Archdevils and Asmodeus, yet was allowed to live despite his betrayal. His is ally to Mephistopheles, and foe to Beezelbub. His cult is not small and many of the Archdevils believe he has no interest in the Material Plane, but they are mistaken. Dis is a wasteland, devoid of anything save towering fortifications and palaces of iron and steel, designed carefully and often beautifully to repel and doom potential attackers. Mammon For more on this, see here. Mammon is ruler of the Third, also called Minauros. His reputation for duplicity has made him despised by his peers, yet he is able to maintain control over his realm by ignoring petty politics and focusing on growing his powerbase on the Material Plane. He often seduces mortals with promises of wealth and luxury, forcing them to commit debased and often sexual acts to feed his appetite. He is renowned for luring Dragons into his service, much to the dismay of Tiamat and Bahamut. Minauros is a vista of wealth and luxury, replete with slavery, excess and sexual deviancy. Belial and Fierna For more on this, see here. The Fourth, also known as Phlegethos, is ruled by Belial and Fierna. Belial is, by most accounts, the power behind the realm, but has in recent times has contended with the wishes of his daughter, Fierna, who wishes to emulate the Archduchess Glasya and strives against her father for more control, much to Belial's dismay.. Phlegethos is a plane of fire and brimstone, and is the most “typical” layer of Hell if one were to go by mortal depictions. Belial deals with the most desperate, often overlooked by other devils as they often have so little to offer. Levistus For more on this, see here. Levistus turned against Asmodeus during the reckoning and slew Bensozia, the Prince's lover and mother of Glasya. As punishment he was trapped in an immense glacier which could never be thawed nor broken apart by labour. Upon the ascension of Glasya to power in the Sixth, Levistus was given control over the Fifth, known as Stygia, which was reshaped into an icy wasteland. He controls his plane telepathically from deep within his prison, and seeks to escape his chains to the exclusion of nearly all other pursuits, despite its apparent futility. In his imprisonment, Levistus cannot deal with mortals. His appearance is nearly indescribable, but has been summarised as a shadow trapped in a glass prism. Glasya For more on this, see here. Glasya is the newest of the Archdevils, and rules the Sixth, also known as Malbolge. Asmodeus promoted her after the spectacular death of Malbolge's previous ruler, The Hag, whose corpse now forms the landscape of the layer. She is first and foremost the daughter of Asmodeus, and strives to invade Stygia and slay Levistus, who murdered her mother. To this end she keeps a small but powerful cult on the Material Plane, ceaselessly gathering information and secrets she hopes she can use to persuade her father to back an invasion of Stygia. She strikes deals with the vain and the infatuated, for she considers them most vulnerable. Her agents are often succubi, entrancing mortal men and sucking them of their life and knowledge before reporting back to their beautiful queen. Beezelbub For more on this, see here. Beezelbub rules Maladomini, the seventh. Its landscape is dotted with beautiful cities of architectural perfection and fantastic scale, yet they are left to ruin. The Lord of Flies builds them over and over, instructing his followers to tear them down and start again, as each is a disappointment. Once the most beautiful of the Archdevil's, Asmodeus cursed him for his betrayal, and his ugly form now oozes bile and pus endlessly, his once wondrous palaces rotting from within. He openly plans against Asmodeus and is distrusted by nearly all of the other Archdevils. He is one of the most powerful Archdevils however, and maintains a large cult on the Material Plane, mutating his trusted followers into disgusting reflections of his own abomination, but enticing newer initiated with promises of power and beauty. Mephistopheles For more on this, see here. Mephistopheles devotes his whole being to overthrowing Asmodeus, who he believes to have his rightful place as Prince of the Hells. Mephistopheles controls the Eighth, also known as Cania. The Betrayer hoards arcane secrets, hoping to collect enough power to overthrow the Lord of the Ninth. As a result, he is the most involved in the politics and power brokering of the Hells, and has only a small Cult on the Material Plane. In fact, the common folk of Tolas often confuse him for Asmodeus, much to his fury. He is a conflicted being, calm and calculating when among others, but prone to rages when alone, destroying the interior of his palace and tearing at his own flesh in his despair. Recently he has mastered channeling what he has dubbed Hellfire, a potent arcane weapon that many in the Hells see as the next step along his road to slaying Asmodeus. He deals only with the most ignorant and the most wise. Asmodeus For more on this, see here. Asmodeus lurks in the Ninth layer, Nessus. Little is known about him, and few but the Archdevils themselves can claim to have seen him. He has no cult on the Material Plane, nor has ever been known to give blessings or boons to mortals. He does not show his power openly, but his reign absolute, his strength last proven when he overcame his subordinates in the Reckoning. His schemes last millennia and are beyond comprehension, as demonstrated through his tolerance of the Archdevils who betrayed him. Secretly, Asmodeus has learnt the Word of Unmaking, which, when spoken, can unravel the fabric of a plane. It is unknown why he has pained to acquire such a powerful weapon, and he has made no indication of ever using it, yet it lies within his capabilities. The Reckoning The Reckoning of the Hells was an event that led to the formation of the hierarchy of the Nine Hells beneath Asmodeus. It came about when two factions of Archdevils emerged to challenge the rule of Asmodeus, the two sides fighting a civil war to see who would claim the dominion over all the layers. Asmodeus however outmaneuvered his would be successors, damning them lesser roles, destroying others, and keeping some in positions of power where he can keep a close eye on their activities. Hellfire After he discovered and mastered Hellfire, an ancient and terrible weapon, Mephistopheles set into motion a plot that he developed since Levistus was first promoted. He secretly contacted the Chained One with his ally Dispater and offered the frozen Archdevil an escape from his icy prison, using Hellfire, in return for his services in a coup against Asmodeus. Simultaneously, Dispater began to increase his cult on the material plane, which many of the other Archdevils did not even know existed. He hoped to find beings or artefacts of power which he can use with his allies to subdue or enthrall the other Archdevils of the layers, or at least end his ancient enemy Beezelbub. However, all three allies knew that Asmodeus' spies were many, and their paranoia had increased, in Dispater's case, beyond reason and logic. It was that paranoia however, that uncovered the plot being hatched by Beezelbub, forcing the two factions into open conflict. Hell Divided Another faction comprised of Beezelbub with Belial, Moloch, and Zariel rose to vie for power. Under the leadership of the second in command of the Hells, these four planned in secret against the others, eventually waging open war against the opposing faction to see who had the right to claim the throne of Baator. A New Order During what would have been the final battle between the two factions, each of the Archdevils' were betrayed by their pit fiend generals who were promised a position of power by Asmodeus. When the warhorns sounded, instead of a pitched battle, the Archdevils were left alone on the battlefield as their legions departed or were cut down by those loyal to Asmodeus. An avatar of the Lord of the Nine Hells appeared before them, some begging for forgiveness, others remaining defiant. Passing out judgement on the battlefield, the new order of the Hells was established, with Asmodeus still firmly at the top. The One Time Lords A number of former Archdevils that once ruled the planes of the Nine Hells have since been deposed, slain, or demoted by Asmodeus for betrayal, failure, or both. Zariel For more on this, see here. A former angel who reveled in the glory of battle, Zariel was given command of Avernus where she led the armies of the Hells on crusades against the demon hordes that invaded the realm. She sided with Beezelbub during the Reckoning, but was allowed to keep her role as defender of the gates of the Hells for a time, until Bel, her most trusted lieutenant betrayed her and for this failure Asmodeus demoted her and allowed Bel to claim the title of Lord of the First for himself. Moloch Former ruler of Malbolge, the sixth layer of the Hells. He sided with Beezelbub in the Reckoning and was punished by being demoted and cursed to become weak and helpless whenever he enters Malbolge. He now spends his time searching the Hells and other planes for a way to free him of this affliction, only those mortals that are truly desperate reach out to Moloch, who is just as desperate as they are to make a deal. Moloch appears as a great brutish almost ogre-like fiend dragging chains behind him that he whips and lashes those wretched souls he has enthralled, inflicting pain on them to give him a reprieve from his own. Geryon Once the ruler of the fifth layer of Stygia, Geryon sided with Mephistopheles during the Reckoning, and paid the price for his failed coup by being demoted by Asmodeus. He now dwells in the fortress of Coldsteel in Stygia where he schemes and plans to return to power once more. Geryon appeared as man with the lower body of a great serpent with a scorpion's tail, a pair of bat-like wings, and carrying a great warhorn said to summon a host of minotaur bound to his service. Fiendish Cults Many Archdevils maintain cults on the mortal plane of Tolas, who with all their might are effectively trapped in the Nine Hells. While many creatures are able to travel to other planes, mainly in thanks the devices known as planar anchors that tether a plane relative to another, devils require either a portal key they can physically walk through or a summoning ritual conducted by an entity on another plane. And the curious phenomenon of the Silver Veil prevents entities that ascend too far to rival the power of gods to be tainted with madness by this strange barrier that surrounds the mortal plane. Because of these restrictions, many devils work through cults. Cults typically consist of folk who have used rituals to contact devils and pledge their souls to them in return for power. Such bargains are driven by the Archdevils, who seek fodder for their legions, powerful thralls to increase their power, or gifts they can offer Asmodeus to earn his favour or stay his wrath.Category:The Nine Hells Category:Fiends